Washington, D.C. – As the Free Thought Project reported last week, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) just announced they will ban the popular pain relief supplement kratom by placing it on the Schedule 1 list, which denotes “no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse” – the most restrictive classification under the federal Controlled Substances Act.

This move to ban yet another highly beneficial plant by the DEA has been met with heavy backlash and multiple petitions. The backlash is entirely justified as this plant has many amazing benefits — including a potential cure for opioid addiction.

A notice of intent to classify kratom was placed on the Federal Register on August 31, with plans to temporarily categorize the supplement as a Schedule I substance on September 30, according to a filing by the DEA:

Notice of Intent

The Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration is issuing this notice of intent to temporarily schedule the opioids mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine, which are the main active constituents of the plant kratom, into schedule I pursuant to the temporary scheduling provisions of the Controlled Substances Act. This action is based on a finding by the Administrator that the placement of these opioids into schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act is necessary to avoid an imminent hazard to the public safety. Any final order will impose the administrative, civil, and criminal sanctions and regulatory controls applicable to schedule I controlled substances under the Controlled Substances Act on the manufacture, distribution, possession, importation, and exportation of, and research and conduct of instructional activities of these opioids.

This “imminent hazard,” as cited by the DEA, is all but non-existent. Yes, the CDC reported in July that kratom can be abused and that poison control centers have received over 660 calls between 2010 and 2015 regarding kratom intoxication. However, these numbers pale in comparison to the extreme death that follows prescription opioids, and, there has yet to be any conclusive evidence showing kratom to be deadly.

So why would the DEA worry about a beneficial plant that is pretty much harmless? The answer is quite clear — Big Pharma.

“Mitragynine is a major indole alkaloid isolated from the Thai medicinal plant Mitragyna speciosa that has opium-like properties, although its chemical structure is quite different from that of morphine. We attempted to develop novel analgesics derived from mitragynine, and thus synthesized the ethylene glycol-bridged and C10-fluorinated derivative of mitragynine, MGM-9 [(E)-methyl 2-(3-ethyl-7a,12a-(epoxyethanoxy)-9-fluoro-1,2,3,4,6,7,12,12b-octahydro-8-methoxyindolo[2,3-a]quinolizin-2-yl)-3-methoxyacrylate].”

“Numerous efforts have been made on the chemical modification of opioid compounds, with the ultimate goal of developing new opioid analgesics that is highly potent and low/non-addictive. In a search for such compounds, TH-030418 [7α-[(R)-1-hydroxy-1-methyl-3-(thien-3-yl)-propyl]-6,14-endo-ethanotetrahydrooripavine] was synthesized.”

As the legal pain medication epidemic sweeps the nation killing thousands every year and converting its users into heroin addicts, the pharmaceutical companies are scrambling to find an alternative. Kratom could be that alternative.

However, since kratom can be grown in your backyard, pharmaceutical companies can’t monopolize it — unless the government outlaws it.

On September 30, kratom will be illegal, but the synthetic patented and monopolized version will not.

While the mainstream media often acknowledges that these drug companies charge exorbitant prices for their medications, they conveniently leave out the reason they can do so is because they have the full support of Uncle Sam.

Instead of looking at the corrupt government, who has the unique ability to create and sustain monopolies, the evil drugs and the market are blamed.

How many more people will have to die of opioid overdose before Americans stand up to the DEA and refuse to obey their tyrannical and corrupt laws?

Please share this article to wake other people up to the fact that the DEA is only operating as the guardians of the big pharma monopoly!

Matt Agorist is an honorably discharged veteran of the USMC and former intelligence operator directly tasked by the NSA. This prior experience gives him unique insight into the world of government corruption and the American police state. Agorist has been an independent journalist for over a decade and has been featured on mainstream networks around the world. Follow @MattAgorist on Twitter and now on Steemit

About Matt Agorist

Matt Agorist is an honorably discharged veteran of the USMC and former intelligence operator directly tasked by the NSA. This prior experience gives him unique insight into the world of government corruption and the American police state. Agorist has been an independent journalist for over a decade and has been featured on mainstream networks around the world. Agorist is also the Editor at Large at the Free Thought Project. Follow @MattAgorist on Twitter, Steemit, and now on Minds.

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